Embroidery is a centuries old art that use to be done using the bones and pelts of animals. Starting in the 12th century being able to display and wear embroidered material was a sign of affluence and wealth. Back then there was no option but to do all the embroidery by hand, thankfully now we have other options, which makes starting a home embroidery business a very doable and fantastic idea.
Be Your Own Boss
Although embroidery was seen as more of a grandmother type hobby and business over the past couple of decades, it has enjoyed a resurgence during the past few years that has lead to people of all ages taking embroidery up as both a hobby and a business. If you are reading this article then you are probably thinking about starting your own embroidery business. Congratulations! Starting your own embroidery business is a fantastic idea, and something that can be done from the comfort of your own home or you could even open up your own little shop. This can be the perfect job for stay at home moms, retired people, or something to do on the side. Some of the amazing benefits of having your own embroidery business are that you can set your own hours, decide how much you will spend on materials and how much you want to charge your customers for your work and you can decide just how much work you want to take on. You could potentially keep yourself busy all day, or just a few hours a week. When you own your own embroidery business, all those details are up to you.
What to do First?
Once you decide that you want to open your own embroidery business it is very important that you decide if you will be doing hand embroidering , or machine embroidering. If you really want this to become more than a hobby, you will have to purchase and embroidery machine that is compatible with your home computer or laptop. Embroidery by machine is a fantastic fast way to embroider anything. It works very similar to a sewing machine, and is the same size as one, but you can program any kind of design you want. To do this you will need a design file. You will find that your machine comes with files and designs, and you will also be able to find an unlimited amount on the world wide web. Another great thing about using embroidery machines are that you will be able to make your own designs on the computer, upload them to your machine, and in no time the machine will embroider your artwork onto the material.
Do Your Research
Before you go out and buy an embroidery machine make sure that you do research about the custom embroidery business. This is important because you will want to make sure you network as much as possible to get your business out there and gain new clients and connections. You can do this by joining embroidery associations, attend craft and embroidery shows and read up on owning a small business and embroidery projects.
Setting up a Business Plan
Once you have decided that you want to start your own embroidery business and have purchased an embroidery machine, you will want to write a business plan. Even if you only plan on having a small business,a business plan is important for helping you reach your goals and stay on task. Essentially a business plan is just a written description of your goals for your business in the next 6 months, 1 year, 3 years and 5 years. Your business plan will help you see what steps need to be taken so that you can reach all of your goals. A business plan will also be needed if you want to open a large embroidery business and plan on taking out business loans from a bank or if you are going to look for investors.
Time to Talk
If you only plan on having a very small buisness with just a few close friends and family, then this next step is one that you can probably skip, but if you plan on taking on clients from your community, or online, then there are some people that you will want to talk to. First you will want to speak with a tax advisor and someone at the IRS. Talking to these people will help you figure out if you need to register your company or if you have to obtain any licenses. If you do, they will be able to point you in the right direction in regards to what licenses or registration you will need. A tax advisor or an accountant will help you understand everything you need to know about taxes and how much you should charge your customers as well as how much you should save to pay the government when tax time comes around. AFter that you will want to talk to a business assistant. A business assistant will help you figure out what kind of people you need to help make your business work. They will be able to help you figure out what kind of employees you need for marketing, customer service order taking and even in house bookkeeping. Finally, you will want to reach out to suppliers. Suppliers will help you figure out how much material you will need and they will help you to be able to obtain your materials quickly.
Find Your Market
The best way to find customers is through word of mouth. Once your friends and family know that you are starting your own embroidery business, they will surely want to help by spreading the word around. Next you will want to talk to schools , churches and various types of clubs in your area. These are all places that do lots of custom embroidery on their uniforms and the like. You will also want to join online selling sites like Etsy, which cater to homemade custom items.
Now that you have all the basic tips on how to start your own embroidery business it is time to get out there and get to work. Good luck!
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